Today, October 30, 5:00 p.m. is the deadline to send testimony to the Texas House of Representatives Interim Committee on Aggregate Production Operations (APOs). The committee is looking into production practices of sand mines and other types of APOs across Texas.
If you haven’t yet submitted comments, please take time to put something together—even if it’s just a few paragraphs!
Write about how YOU personally have been or will be impacted by sand mines. Pick one or two of these key issues that will most affect you personally:
???? Air quality ???? Water quality, use and availability ???? Surface and ground water contamination and flooding ???? Rapid development of APOs without adequate regulatory oversight, mine planning, or reclamation ???? Truck traffic ???? Nuisance issues: blasting, noise, odor, visible blight ???? Economic impacts, devaluation of property
How to Submit Comments
When you are ready to submit your testimony, email it to jeff.frazier_hc@house.texas.gov (jeff DOT frazier UNDERSCORE hc) or press the link below. Make sure to include:
Your name
Address
Phone number
Testimony in attachment (PDF preferred, Word Document OK, preferably five pages or less)
Sand mining is necessary to make concrete and support growth. No one wants to put sand miners out of business. People do, however, have legitimate issues with egregious sand-mining practices.
They want sand produced in a manner that respects public safety, health, homes, and the environment.
Since starting this website I have created more than 200 posts about problems with the way sand mining is actually practiced in the Houston Area, and how dangerous practices contribute to flooding. To learn more, use the search phrase “sand mines” or see the index page. Here are some examples.
Sand mining in floodways on West ForkDischarging industrial waste water into the public drinking water supplyAnother discharge of industrial wastewater into the headwaters of Lake HoustonFailure to stabilize soil or restore land to alternative us after abandonment of mine.Mining too close to natural gas pipeline and exposing itEndangering five pipelines carrying highly volatile liquids near the West Fork San JacintoWest Fork sand dune deposited during Harvey downstream from 20-square miles of mines in floodway. It contributed to the flooding of more than 7,000 structures.River mining without a permitFlooding adjacent property with floodwaterBarely plugged breach near LMI mine on West ForkPumping wastewater into wetlands
Don’t tolerate sand-mining practices that jeopardize your home, family and community. Write today.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/30/2020
1158 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20191104-RJR_4147.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-10-30 14:58:542020-10-30 15:23:05Submitted Your Sand Mine Testimony Yet?
A year after the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) filed a notice of enforcement against a Plum Grove sand miner named Somaiah Kurre, it appears that Kurre still has not complied with TCEQ regulations to restore his abandoned mine. However, he has found time to take over operations at the troubled Triple PG Sand Mine in Porter. The Texas Attorney General is already suing the Porter mine. This raises two serious public policy issues.
Should miners who leave behind environmental issues at one site be allowed to operate another before fixing problems at the first?
Permits Without Performance
It also calls into question state regulations that allow sand mines to obtain operating permits without forcing them to restore mines to nature or alternative uses when done.
Performance bonds are common in the construction industry.
Texas should adopt a performance-bond policy. This case shows why.
Texas regulations state only that a mine needs a reclamation plan to get a permit. However, there are no regulations stating they must execute the plan.
When unscrupulous operators are done mining a site, there’s no reason for them to invest another penny in it.
Texas needs performance bonds and/or a “toxic legacy” law. Companies that abandon unsafe mines should be forbidden to operate anywhere else in the state. They just can’t be trusted.
Troubled History In Plum Grove
Texas Concrete Sand and Gravel, Inc., one of Mr. Kurre’s 16 companies, has a troubled history at its Plum Grove location. Before October 2019, TCEQ investigated it nine times for 17 alleged violations in four years. Twelve involved unauthorized discharges of industrial waste.
Previous alleged violations included failure to:
Prevent unauthorized discharge of industrial waste (7 investigations plus 5 complaints)
Renew registration
Document steps taken to address benchmark exceedances
Comply with record keeping and reporting requirements
Maintain compliance with permitted numeric effluent limitations
Sample water quality at designated outfalls.
Abandoned Without Compliance After Imelda
During Tropical Storm Imelda in September 2019, the mine’s dikes breached in four places. The mine discharged industrial wastewater and sediment into the San Jacinto East Fork. The East Fork empties into Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million Houstonians.
The company eventually fixed the breaches, but cancelled its Multisector General Permit (MSGP) and Aggregate Production Operation (APO) registration.
A company spokesperson told TCEQ investigators that the company had ceased all operations at the site.
No visible attempt has yet been made to stabilize soil, restore the land that needed it, or convert the site to an alternative use. So the company is still violating terms of its permit.
An excavator, dredge, shed, other abandoned equipment, plus bacteria- and scum-laden ponds remain. See photos below.
Photos Taken 10/25/2020
Abandoned stockpile shows signs of recent activity. After a year with supposedly no activity, you would think some of this water would have clarified. Can you spot the five different colors of water in different ponds?Dredge has not moved in months.Working parts of dredge are crusted with rust.Large part of site not stabilized. Tracks show trucks entering and leaving the mine, taking sand from the mine’s stockpile.But no signs or permits are posted at the site.
“The MSGP contains requirements … to terminate permit coverage after mining activity has ceased. The operator must demonstrate they have accomplished the final stabilization requirements: 1) completion of soil disturbing activities, 2) stabilization to minimize soil erosion, 3) ensuring stormwater runoff does not contribute to a violation of water quality standards, and 4) the site has been revegetated or left in the condition consistent with post-mining land use such as a nature park or lakes.”
“When operators have achieved final stabilization, they must submit a Notice of Termination which has been signed and certified by the responsible signatory authority as described in 30 TAC §305.44,” said the spokesperson.
The TCEQ spokesperson also said that Kurre, who fancies himself a startup impresario, is trying to negotiate payment terms for a $19,036 fine that TCEQ levied against him on April 14, 2020.
The First Amended Petition in the Triple PG lawsuit by the Attorney General shows that Kurre took over operations at the Triple PG mine in April. However, the amended petition did not specify who the new operator was at the time.
Ironically some of the alleged violations that the TCEQ charged Mr. Kurre with in Plum Grove are identical to the charges that the Attorney General lodged against the Triple PG mine in Porter.
The Many Faces of Somaiah Kurre
A search for corporate listings associated with Kurre’s name in the Texas Secretary of State database shows that he controls – wholly or partially – 16 businesses.
Manjari Enterprises LLC
Texas Concrete Enterprise, L.L.C.
Asam LLC
Texas Concrete Enterprise – II, LLC
Shree Radha, LLC
Texas Concrete Enterprise – IV, L.L.C.
Texas Concrete Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Plum Grove Material, Inc.
Rohini Enterprises Inc.
JSR Materials, Inc.
Bright Star Stores, Inc.
US Readymix Inc.
US Fracsand, LLC
Rama Krishna 2, LLC
Texas Frac Sand Materials, Inc.
Texas Concrete Sand and Gravel Enterprise, Inc.
Along the East Fork, Kurre owns or operates mines in San Jacinto, Liberty, Montgomery and Harris Counties. That possibly qualifies him as the largest operator on the East Fork.
Toxic Legacy?
Note unusual blue-green color in pond – a likely indicator of potentially dangerous bacteria.
According to the TCEQ, the color of that blue-green pool on the right in the photo above indicates that it is likely filled with cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria can produce cyanotoxins.And the CDC says that cyanotoxins are “among the most powerful natural poisons known. They can make people, their pets, and other animals sick. Unfortunately, there are no remedies to counteract the effects.”
Pond near entry road.Not quite a nature park! Texas Concrete’s legacy in Plum Grove. No identifying signs or permits are posted at the entrance to the site, despite the truck traffic.
Sites like this can unnaturally accelerate the buildup of sediment dams in rivers. Not only do they expose sand, they expose it in the floodways of rivers and streams. After Imelda, a huge sand bar set up at the mouth of the San Jacinto East Fork . It contributed to flooding of nearby residents. The public will have to pay to remove it.
East Fork Mouth Bar after Imelda. Before Imelda, this area was 18 feet deep. Boaters say the deepest part of the channel is now three feet.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/29/2020
1157 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 405 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20201025-DJI_0966.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-10-29 22:04:442020-10-30 12:52:27Sand Miner Takes Over Troubled Porter Mine While Still Violating TCEQ Regs at Plum Grove Mine
Flood mitigation is a complex process with hundreds of moving parts, all dependent on each other. When you focus intensely on the pieces, periodically it helps to review how they fit together. Only when you do this can you see progress toward your goals. In that spirit, I created this presentation. It has a Kingwood slant, but really addresses the whole Lake Houston Area. Everything connects.
What Caused Flooding
First, let’s look at what caused the flooding during Harvey and other recent storms…apart from record rainfalls.
The rain fell on a landscape that was ill-prepared the handle it.
Look at flooding like a process engineer. There’s always a bottleneck in the system somewhere between the sky and Galveston Bay. Both local and regional issues contributed to the magnitude of the Harvey and Imelda disasters.
Underestimating Rainfall Meant Underpreparing
When we built communities, such as Kingwood, we underestimated the amount of rainfall we could get. After four so-called 500 year rains in five years, we’re now working with higher rainfall precipitation frequency estimates (called Atlas 14). For this area, the 100-year rain is about 30-40% higher than the previous standard. That means floodplains will soon expand when new flood maps are released. Some people in the 500-year floodplain will find themselves in the 100-year. And people in the 100-year may find themselves in the floodway of rivers and streams. Unless we do something.
Lake Conroe Release Coincided with Downstream Peaks
On top of record rainfalls, during Harvey, the SJRA released water from Lake Conroe at a time that coincided with downstream peaks from other tributaries. The release by itself would have created the ninth largest flood in West Fork history. It comprised about one third of all the water coming down the West Fork.
Population Growth in MoCo
On top of that, Montgomery County has seen tremendous population growth in the last decade. Conroe was the fastest growing city in America in 2017 and is still #6. The county itself is the second fastest growing in the region.
To pave the way for all that development, we’ve seen a huge increase in sand mining upstream in the last 25 years. Before 2011, unregistered, bootleg operators went unregulated. But even those who are registered don’t follow common-sense regulations common in other states, which protect the environment and downstream residents. For instance, they mine so close to the river that dikes frequently fail. As a result, they have contributed to a greater than than natural buildup of sediment in our rivers. After Harvey, the US Army Corps of Engineers found that the West Fork was 90% blocked just downstream from River Grove Park.
Another factor contributing to flooding: Lake Conroe can release water 15 times faster than Lake Houston. That makes it difficult to lower lake levels in advance of a major storm. Storms have a nasty habit of veering away at the last minute. The small gates on Lake Houston mean you have to start lowering the lake far in advance. That raises the risk of wasting precious water. Larger gates would make managing lake levels easier.
Ditches, Streams Filling In
Finally, sediment built up in more places than the San Jacinto. It has also built up in the ditches and streams that lead to the river. This reduces convenance within neighborhoods. There’s less room to store water in streams, so it backs up into storm sewers and streets, and can eventually flood homes.
But what can we do to remedy the damage already done? Leaders in the Lake Houston Area identified a four-part strategy and are working with the SJRA, City of Houston, Montgomery County and Harris County Flood Control to implement it. Elements include:
Increasing upstream detention to reduce the volume of water coming downstream during floods
Dredging the river to remove sediment dams that back water up
Increasing the number of gates on the Lake Houston Spillway to release water faster
Restoring or expanding ditches to handle more water
Let’s look at each of those in a little more detail.
Upstream Detention
The Humble/Kingwood area sits at the tip of a funnel. 535 square miles in a seven-county region drain into Lake Houston.
The San Jacinto River Basin Master Drainage Study identified 16 potential detention projects to hold water back during major storms. However, they would cost roughly $3 billion to reduce damage by less than $1 billion. So that’s a stretch. FEMA evaluates projects based on their benefit/cost ratio.
The SJRA has already applied for a grant for a detention project on Caney Creek which empties into the east fork. But we also need something that can help offset releases from the Lake Conroe Dam on the West Fork. Next step: figure out the funding piece of the puzzle.
The slide below shows why we need additional dredging.
An 18-foot high underwater plateau exists between where the Army Corps stopped dredging on the West Fork and the FM1960 Bridge where scouring during Harvey reduced the channel depth.
The chart above shows the deepest part of the channel between those two areas. If left in place, this plateau will force flood water out of banks during floods. It will also trap sediment, negating the value of previous dredging efforts.
More Gates for Lake Houston
FEMA has conditionally approved up to approximately $50 million to increase the outflow capacity of Lake Houston. During Havey, the flow of water over the spillway was estimated at 11-13 feet. That’s reportedly higher than the flow over Niagra Falls.
In Kingwood, they identified nine projects and recommended two for immediate implementation that should improve drainage on a third tributary, Ben’s Branch.
Recommendations include expanding:
Kingwood Diversion Ditch to take water out of the Ben’s Branch watershed and also improve drainage from surrounding subdivisions from Woodland Hills down to the West Fork.
Taylor Gully – if a deal cannot be reached to purchase Woodridge Village and build a regional detention basin on it.
In addition, Flood Control and the City are looking at minor improvements to other ditches that back water up in places, for instance, at culverts under Kingwood Drive.
Goal: Restore 100-Year Level of Service
Engineers solving all these problems have a goal: to restore your home to what they call a 100-year level of service. That means if your home was built above the 100-year floodplain, it should not flood in a 100-year rain – based on new Atlas 14 standards. In places, sedimentation and upstream development have reduced the level of service to 2 years over time.
We need to restore the capacity of ditches, streams, the river and lake to handle 100-year rains. So we can get water from the sky to the Bay without it going through your living room.
While progress may feel painfully slow, many improvements have already been made.
For instance, in addition to dredging, Flood Control has divided Ben’s Branch up into five projects. Three are already complete:
You can help by remaining engaged. Without public pressure, it’s easy for elected officials to ignore these problems and defer expensive solutions. Keep flood mitigation a high priority. Floods can strike at any time. We had four tropical systems barely miss us this year.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/27/2020
1155 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 404 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Submitted Your Sand Mine Testimony Yet?
Today, October 30, 5:00 p.m. is the deadline to send testimony to the Texas House of Representatives Interim Committee on Aggregate Production Operations (APOs). The committee is looking into production practices of sand mines and other types of APOs across Texas.
Write About Your Experience
Written comments will be evaluated and considered by the committee when they make their decisions.
If you haven’t yet submitted comments, please take time to put something together—even if it’s just a few paragraphs!
Write about how YOU personally have been or will be impacted by sand mines. Pick one or two of these key issues that will most affect you personally:
???? Air quality
???? Water quality, use and availability
???? Surface and ground water contamination and flooding
???? Rapid development of APOs without adequate regulatory oversight, mine planning, or reclamation
???? Truck traffic
???? Nuisance issues: blasting, noise, odor, visible blight
???? Economic impacts, devaluation of property
How to Submit Comments
When you are ready to submit your testimony, email it to jeff.frazier_hc@house.texas.gov (jeff DOT frazier UNDERSCORE hc) or press the link below. Make sure to include:
Deadline is 5:00 p.m., Friday, October 30, 2020.
Not Choice Between Growth and Safety
Sand mining is necessary to make concrete and support growth. No one wants to put sand miners out of business. People do, however, have legitimate issues with egregious sand-mining practices.
Since starting this website I have created more than 200 posts about problems with the way sand mining is actually practiced in the Houston Area, and how dangerous practices contribute to flooding. To learn more, use the search phrase “sand mines” or see the index page. Here are some examples.
Don’t tolerate sand-mining practices that jeopardize your home, family and community. Write today.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/30/2020
1158 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Sand Miner Takes Over Troubled Porter Mine While Still Violating TCEQ Regs at Plum Grove Mine
A year after the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) filed a notice of enforcement against a Plum Grove sand miner named Somaiah Kurre, it appears that Kurre still has not complied with TCEQ regulations to restore his abandoned mine. However, he has found time to take over operations at the troubled Triple PG Sand Mine in Porter. The Texas Attorney General is already suing the Porter mine. This raises two serious public policy issues.
Permits Without Performance
It also calls into question state regulations that allow sand mines to obtain operating permits without forcing them to restore mines to nature or alternative uses when done.
Other states force mines to post performance bonds for reclamation before issuing the initial permit to construct a mine. If they restore the land when done mining, they get their money back. If they don’t, the state can use it to cover the cost of cleanup without forcing taxpayers to foot the bill.
Performance bonds are common in the construction industry.
Texas should adopt a performance-bond policy. This case shows why.
When unscrupulous operators are done mining a site, there’s no reason for them to invest another penny in it.
Texas needs performance bonds and/or a “toxic legacy” law. Companies that abandon unsafe mines should be forbidden to operate anywhere else in the state. They just can’t be trusted.
Troubled History In Plum Grove
Texas Concrete Sand and Gravel, Inc., one of Mr. Kurre’s 16 companies, has a troubled history at its Plum Grove location. Before October 2019, TCEQ investigated it nine times for 17 alleged violations in four years. Twelve involved unauthorized discharges of industrial waste.
Previous alleged violations included failure to:
Abandoned Without Compliance After Imelda
During Tropical Storm Imelda in September 2019, the mine’s dikes breached in four places. The mine discharged industrial wastewater and sediment into the San Jacinto East Fork. The East Fork empties into Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million Houstonians.
The company eventually fixed the breaches, but cancelled its Multisector General Permit (MSGP) and Aggregate Production Operation (APO) registration.
However, the TCEQ report notes that terms of Texas-Concrete-Sand-and-Gravel’s permit still obligated the company to stabilize soil on the site or return it to an alternative post-mining use. A year later, that still hasn’t happened. Large portions of the site remain barren and disturbed.
An excavator, dredge, shed, other abandoned equipment, plus bacteria- and scum-laden ponds remain. See photos below.
Photos Taken 10/25/2020
Provisions of Regulations and Permit
The requirements of the Texas Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) run more than 166 pages. But a TCEQ spokesperson summarized the relevant portions this way.
“The MSGP contains requirements … to terminate permit coverage after mining activity has ceased. The operator must demonstrate they have accomplished the final stabilization requirements: 1) completion of soil disturbing activities, 2) stabilization to minimize soil erosion, 3) ensuring stormwater runoff does not contribute to a violation of water quality standards, and 4) the site has been revegetated or left in the condition consistent with post-mining land use such as a nature park or lakes.”
“When operators have achieved final stabilization, they must submit a Notice of Termination which has been signed and certified by the responsible signatory authority as described in 30 TAC §305.44,” said the spokesperson.
The TCEQ spokesperson also said that Kurre, who fancies himself a startup impresario, is trying to negotiate payment terms for a $19,036 fine that TCEQ levied against him on April 14, 2020.
Encore Performance?
Meanwhile, another of Kurre’s companies, Texas Frac Sand Materials Inc., has taken over operations at the troubled Triple PG Sand Mine in Porter. It appears from a 9/8/2020 TCEQ investigation of that location that Kurre will operate, not own the mine.
The First Amended Petition in the Triple PG lawsuit by the Attorney General shows that Kurre took over operations at the Triple PG mine in April. However, the amended petition did not specify who the new operator was at the time.
The Texas Attorney General is suing the owners of the Triple PG Mine for more than a million dollars, plus up to $25,000 per day for the period that the mine discharged industrial wastewater into the headwaters of Lake Houston. Yep. Does this sound familiar? The Triple PG case (Cause No. D-1-GN-19-007086 in Travis County) has not yet gone to trial.
Ironically some of the alleged violations that the TCEQ charged Mr. Kurre with in Plum Grove are identical to the charges that the Attorney General lodged against the Triple PG mine in Porter.
The Many Faces of Somaiah Kurre
A search for corporate listings associated with Kurre’s name in the Texas Secretary of State database shows that he controls – wholly or partially – 16 businesses.
Along the East Fork, Kurre owns or operates mines in San Jacinto, Liberty, Montgomery and Harris Counties. That possibly qualifies him as the largest operator on the East Fork.
Toxic Legacy?
According to the TCEQ, the color of that blue-green pool on the right in the photo above indicates that it is likely filled with cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria can produce cyanotoxins. And the CDC says that cyanotoxins are “among the most powerful natural poisons known. They can make people, their pets, and other animals sick. Unfortunately, there are no remedies to counteract the effects.”
Sites like this can unnaturally accelerate the buildup of sediment dams in rivers. Not only do they expose sand, they expose it in the floodways of rivers and streams. After Imelda, a huge sand bar set up at the mouth of the San Jacinto East Fork . It contributed to flooding of nearby residents. The public will have to pay to remove it.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/29/2020
1157 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 405 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
October 2020 Regional Flood Mitigation Update
Flood mitigation is a complex process with hundreds of moving parts, all dependent on each other. When you focus intensely on the pieces, periodically it helps to review how they fit together. Only when you do this can you see progress toward your goals. In that spirit, I created this presentation. It has a Kingwood slant, but really addresses the whole Lake Houston Area. Everything connects.
What Caused Flooding
First, let’s look at what caused the flooding during Harvey and other recent storms…apart from record rainfalls.
Look at flooding like a process engineer. There’s always a bottleneck in the system somewhere between the sky and Galveston Bay. Both local and regional issues contributed to the magnitude of the Harvey and Imelda disasters.
Underestimating Rainfall Meant Underpreparing
When we built communities, such as Kingwood, we underestimated the amount of rainfall we could get. After four so-called 500 year rains in five years, we’re now working with higher rainfall precipitation frequency estimates (called Atlas 14). For this area, the 100-year rain is about 30-40% higher than the previous standard. That means floodplains will soon expand when new flood maps are released. Some people in the 500-year floodplain will find themselves in the 100-year. And people in the 100-year may find themselves in the floodway of rivers and streams. Unless we do something.
Lake Conroe Release Coincided with Downstream Peaks
On top of record rainfalls, during Harvey, the SJRA released water from Lake Conroe at a time that coincided with downstream peaks from other tributaries. The release by itself would have created the ninth largest flood in West Fork history. It comprised about one third of all the water coming down the West Fork.
Population Growth in MoCo
On top of that, Montgomery County has seen tremendous population growth in the last decade. Conroe was the fastest growing city in America in 2017 and is still #6. The county itself is the second fastest growing in the region.
Bad Development Practices
Combine the rapid growth in impervious cover with bad development practices and you are laying the groundwork for disaster. The bad development practices include lack of detention, clearcutting huge areas before detention is installed, and calculating detention for the old rainfall standards knowing that higher standards will soon go into effect.
Out-of-Control Sand Mining
To pave the way for all that development, we’ve seen a huge increase in sand mining upstream in the last 25 years. Before 2011, unregistered, bootleg operators went unregulated. But even those who are registered don’t follow common-sense regulations common in other states, which protect the environment and downstream residents. For instance, they mine so close to the river that dikes frequently fail. As a result, they have contributed to a greater than than natural buildup of sediment in our rivers. After Harvey, the US Army Corps of Engineers found that the West Fork was 90% blocked just downstream from River Grove Park.
But the biggest blockage was where the West Fork meets Lake Houston. There, sediment drops out of suspension as the water slows. The sediment built up for decades, forming a mouth bar that backed water up during Harvey and contributed to the flooding of thousands of homes and businesses.
Flood Gate Disparity
Another factor contributing to flooding: Lake Conroe can release water 15 times faster than Lake Houston. That makes it difficult to lower lake levels in advance of a major storm. Storms have a nasty habit of veering away at the last minute. The small gates on Lake Houston mean you have to start lowering the lake far in advance. That raises the risk of wasting precious water. Larger gates would make managing lake levels easier.
Ditches, Streams Filling In
Finally, sediment built up in more places than the San Jacinto. It has also built up in the ditches and streams that lead to the river. This reduces convenance within neighborhoods. There’s less room to store water in streams, so it backs up into storm sewers and streets, and can eventually flood homes.
Four-Part Solution
Montgomery County has now adopted Atlas-14, the new rainfall standard. And residents are pushing commissioners to close loopholes that let developers get away without building detention. Residents are also working with the TCEQ and TACA to adopt better sand mining practices.
But what can we do to remedy the damage already done? Leaders in the Lake Houston Area identified a four-part strategy and are working with the SJRA, City of Houston, Montgomery County and Harris County Flood Control to implement it. Elements include:
Let’s look at each of those in a little more detail.
Upstream Detention
The Humble/Kingwood area sits at the tip of a funnel. 535 square miles in a seven-county region drain into Lake Houston.
The San Jacinto River Basin Master Drainage Study identified 16 potential detention projects to hold water back during major storms. However, they would cost roughly $3 billion to reduce damage by less than $1 billion. So that’s a stretch. FEMA evaluates projects based on their benefit/cost ratio.
The SJRA has already applied for a grant for a detention project on Caney Creek which empties into the east fork. But we also need something that can help offset releases from the Lake Conroe Dam on the West Fork. Next step: figure out the funding piece of the puzzle.
Dredging
We’ve already removed almost three million cubic yards of sediment from the West Fork. The third phase of West Fork dredging should wrap up shortly. But there’s still more work to do.
Luckily:
The slide below shows why we need additional dredging.
An 18-foot high underwater plateau exists between where the Army Corps stopped dredging on the West Fork and the FM1960 Bridge where scouring during Harvey reduced the channel depth.
The chart above shows the deepest part of the channel between those two areas. If left in place, this plateau will force flood water out of banks during floods. It will also trap sediment, negating the value of previous dredging efforts.
More Gates for Lake Houston
FEMA has conditionally approved up to approximately $50 million to increase the outflow capacity of Lake Houston. During Havey, the flow of water over the spillway was estimated at 11-13 feet. That’s reportedly higher than the flow over Niagra Falls.
The FEMA grant initially covers preliminary engineering and environmental surveys. If the benefit/cost ratio is positive, they will release the remainder of the funds for construction.
So far, engineers have identified five possible solutions. Each produces a different flood reduction benefit, but also comes with different costs and environmental issues.
The next step: to analyze the benefit/cost ratio of each and submit the results to FEMA.
We are six months into the first phase, scheduled to take a total of 18 months. Construction, if approved, will take another 18 months.
Ditch Restoration/Expansion
Harris County Flood Control District has studied area ditches for the last year or more. Results of their analyses are now complete.
In Kingwood, they identified nine projects and recommended two for immediate implementation that should improve drainage on a third tributary, Ben’s Branch.
Recommendations include expanding:
In addition, Flood Control and the City are looking at minor improvements to other ditches that back water up in places, for instance, at culverts under Kingwood Drive.
Goal: Restore 100-Year Level of Service
Engineers solving all these problems have a goal: to restore your home to what they call a 100-year level of service. That means if your home was built above the 100-year floodplain, it should not flood in a 100-year rain – based on new Atlas 14 standards. In places, sedimentation and upstream development have reduced the level of service to 2 years over time.
We need to restore the capacity of ditches, streams, the river and lake to handle 100-year rains. So we can get water from the sky to the Bay without it going through your living room.
While progress may feel painfully slow, many improvements have already been made.
For instance, in addition to dredging, Flood Control has divided Ben’s Branch up into five projects. Three are already complete:
A fourth project, to restore Ben’s Branch from Kingwood Drive north to Rocky Woods should start soon. And a fifth, to restore conveyance between the YMCA and the River, will follow.
How You Can Help
You can help by remaining engaged. Without public pressure, it’s easy for elected officials to ignore these problems and defer expensive solutions. Keep flood mitigation a high priority. Floods can strike at any time. We had four tropical systems barely miss us this year.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/27/2020
1155 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 404 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.